With a common mission of improving the health of the ocean, around 400,000 volunteers from around the world literally cleaned 6,485 local beaches and waterways in 104 countries, collecting 6.8 million pounds of day-to-day trash.

The clean-up led to the rescue of some animals trapped inside the debris some of them were still alive during the rescue operations.

The report added:

Of the 11.4 million items of different wastes collected, 11,077 are diapers which came from the Philippines alone. The United States contributed 1,362,741 cigarettes butts, while the United Kingdom has dumped 19,504 fishing nets into the sea.

Because of the rampant and indiscriminate disposal of garbage to our oceans and waterways, countless of marine animals are either killed or injured every year n many parts of the world. Waste materials like broken fish nets could lead to the entanglement of fish and other sea mammals while ingested trash can cause choking and poisoning

Vikki Sprull, president and CEO of Ocean Conservancy said, ‘Our Ocean is sick and our actions have made it so’. ‘Trash doesn’t fall from the sky, it falls from our hands. Humans have created the problem of marine debris, and humans should step up and solve it’.

Garbage disposal has become a major concern of environmentalists throughout the world. Some cause-oriented groups have mounted campaigns to make people aware of the repercussions of indiscriminate disposal of garbage into or oceans and waterways. Other conservationist groups from around the world have likewise started clearing our marine environment to preserve our ocean resources

Governments must now realize that these non-governmental organizations cannot carry out the huge task of clearing our polluted oceans and waterways. It’s time for our leaders to lead and provide the resources to conserve our marine resources for the benefit our future generations.